Nobody is Buying Electric Vehicles
GM sells just 281 Chevy Volts in February, Nissan only moves 67 Leafs |
Peruse Chevrolet’s February sales release, and you’ll notice one number that’s blatantly missing: the number of Chevy Volts sold. The number – a very modest 281 – is available in the company’s detailed data ( PDF), but it certainly isn’t something that GM wants to highlight, apparently. Keeping the number quiet is a bit understandable, since it’s lower than the 321 that Chevy sold in January. |
Nissan doesn’t have anything to brag about here, either (and it didn’t avoiding any mention of the Leaf sales in its press release). Why? Well, back in January, the company sold 87 Leafs. In February? Just 67. Where does that leave us? Well, here’s the big scorecard for all sales of these vehicles thus far: |
Obama’s Blocking of New Power Plants Is Causing Blackouts
Obama’s Blocking Of New Power Plants Triggers Nationwide Blackouts |
Fury as hospitals hit with outages while post-industrial collapse of America accelerates |
The rolling blackouts now being implemented in Texas and across the country as record cold weather grips the United States are a direct consequence of the Obama administration’s agenda to lay siege to the coal industry, launch a takeover of infrastructure under the contrived global warming scam, and help usher in the post-industrial collapse of America. |
Candidate Obama threatens to bankrupt coal-fired plants during comments made in 2008.
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Planned power outages conducted by utility companies have caused outrage amongst officials at four major hospitals in Texas, at Parkland, Baylor, Methodist and Presbyterian Dallas. |
“Because of the sensitive life-saving equipment, hospitals are considered “critical care facilities,” and supposed to be exempt from rolling blackouts,” reports CBS 11. “That’s exactly what Presbyterian Dallas was led to believe. “We were of the understanding that hospitals and other critical-care providers were not supposed to be affected by planned outages,” said hospital spokesman Stephen O’Brien.” |
As well as hospitals, nursing homes, fire stations, police stations, other emergency response facilities have also been hit with outages as demand soars due to freezing temperatures. Many places in Texas now rely on Mexico to supply their power. |
Even as China and Mexico are allowed to build dozens of new power plants every year, the United States is barely permitted to construct a handful, as the Environmental Protection Agency takes control of refineries and power plants under the completely fraudulent pretext of preventing global warming even as the country experiences some of the coldest weather seen for decades. |
Local environmental officials in Texas were again involved in a fight with the EPA after the, “Texas Commission on Environmental Quality last week approved an air permit for the $3.2 billion Las Brisas Energy Center despite a formal EPA request that the commission delay issuing the permit until EPA’s concerns about the plant’s emissions impacts are fully addressed.” |
But it’s not just in Texas where the federal government has embarked on an all out siege against energy independence. |
- As a result of the EPA’s recent remand of air permits, Shell Oil announced yesterday that it has “dropped plans to drill in the Arctic waters of the Beaufort Sea this year and will concentrate,” ensuring more shortgges and higher prices for Americans. |
The Obama administration is conducting industrial warfare against the United States. Obama’s 2008 promise to “bankrupt” the coal industry by placing suffocating restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions even as China and other countries are given free reign to pollute at will is now coming to fruition. Read more at www.prisonplanet.com |
The Ethanol Scam: Damaged Engines, No Environmental Benefit
End the Ethanol Insanity: Ed Wallace |
Ethanol damages engines and is not a viable alternative to fossil fuels, but farmers and lobbyists don’t want you to know that
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“First-generation [corn] ethanol, I think, was a mistake. The energy conversion ratios are at best very small.” —Al Gore, speaking at a green energy conference on Nov. 22, 2010 |
“Ethanol is not an ideal transportation fuel. The future of transportation fuels shouldn’t involve ethanol.” —Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Nov. 29, 2010 |
It is now conceivable that the myth of ethanol as the salvation for America’s energy problem is coming to an end. And maybe we always should have known it would wind up in italics, underlined, with the real facts of the damage ethanol can do to gas-powered motors laid out for all to see in a court of law. I say that because this past Monday a group calling itself the Engine Products Group, comprising small-engine manufacturers, automakers, and boat manufacturers, filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to vacate the EPA’s October ruling that using a 15 percent blend of ethanol in the nation’s fuel supplies would not harm 2007 and newer vehicles. |
Each group of plaintiffs in this case has a different reason for objecting to putting more ethanol into America’s gasoline. The automakers claim they have no idea whether a higher percentage of ethanol would damage their newer cars—and won’t know until their testing is completed next year. The boat manufacturers claim their engines stay in service much longer, and are therefore more likely to be damaged by this fuel. The small-engine manufacturers are positive E15 would severely shorten the life of their products. According to The Washington Post, that’s already been happening. The source is Mick Matuskey, co-owner of Power and Lawn Equipment of Gaithersburg, Md., who said, “You’re getting half of the life out of the product today [when using E10 ethanol], compared to 30, 40 years ago.” |
Energy Tax Credits - You Have 2 Months Remaining
NAHB Reminds Consumers to Renovate Now Before Energy Tax Credits Expire
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October 27, 2010 - Home owners have two more months to take advantage of tax credits that can help them save energy and reduce their utility bills with more energy-efficient windows and doors, insulation, and heating and cooling equipment, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). |
“Our members are ready to help consumers make the best choices for their homes, but home owners should act soon if they want to qualify for up to $1,500 in tax credits when they complete their 2010 income tax returns,” said NAHB Remodelers Chair Donna Shirey, a remodeler and builder in Issaquah, Wash. |
“We think it would be a great benefit to both the environment and to our economy to extend these tax benefits, but they are scheduled to expire at the end of the year,” Shirey noted. “For that reason, NAHB suggests that home owners get the work done before Dec. 31, while the tax credits are still available.” |
The tax credit for efficiency upgrades in existing homes (Internal Revenue Code Section 25C) is available for 30 percent of the cost, up to a $1,500 limit for 2009 and 2010, for the installation of certain types of insulation, windows, roofs, water heaters, heat pumps, air conditioners and furnaces. Details on the kinds of products that qualify and instructions for obtaining the credit are available at www.nahb.org/efficiencytaxcredit. |
A tax credit available under tax code section 25D is also available for equipment that uses renewable energy, such as wind, solar, geothermal or fuel cells. Like the 25C credit, the 25D credit can be used for up to 30 percent of the cost of qualifying products, but there is no lifetime limit and the program does not expire until the end of 2016. |
